No Need for Speed as Teams Rely on Michelin Tires to Take Top Spots in Shell's Super-Mileage Race

Shell Eco-marathon vehicle gets 2,824 miles per gallon

HOUSTON (April 29, 2014) – Teams who fitted their vehicles with specially designed, fuel-efficient Michelin tires won all of the nine classes at the 2014 Shell Eco-marathon this weekend. Rather than racing against the clock, teams competed to go the distance while consuming the least amount of energy. This year’s winner, Universit꜠é Laval, secured 2,824 miles per gallon to take overall best fuel economy.

“When it comes to the efficiency of vehicles in this competition, tires can make all the difference,” said Damien Hallez, technical communications manager for Michelin. “The same is true for our teams that race in Le Mans and American Le Mans. They chose our tires because they are designed and engineered to win. The teams competing at Shell Eco-marathon also want that high-tech advantage.”

Teams are not required to race on Michelin tires but three specific tires are available depending on the vehicle category the teams are racing in. This year, almost 50 percent of the teams chose Michelin tires for their vehicles.

“It is unlikely that we would have won without Michelin tires,” said Louis Thomas Schreiber, a senior mechanical engineering major at Universite Laval. This is the second year in a row that Univerist꜠é Laval has won the overall competition.

Involved with Shell Eco-marathon for nearly 30 years, Michelin specially designs and hand-crafts tires for the Shell teams that incorporate unique materials such as aramid to make the tires nearly five times more energy efficient than the leading tire Michelin produces in the market. Additionally, Michelin provides on-site technical experts and participates in safety inspections on every vehicle.

With nearly three times as many vehicles expected on the road by 2030, Michelin is committed to supporting the development of more sustainable means of mobility, and the Shell Eco-marathon is one of the programs focused on involving students in helping to answer our global mobility challenge.

“These students get it,” said Hallez. “And with the research they’ve done to compete here at Shell Eco-marathon, they will be the ones to help us reach a future of sustainable mobility.”

For prototype vehicles, Michelin makes a MICHELIN® Radial 45-75 R1 and a MICHELIN® 44-406 Prototype and for the urban concept category the tire is a MICHELIN® UrbanConcept tire.

This year, more than 1,000 high school and college teams brought 120 vehicles from 84 schools and traveled from Mexico, Canada, Brazil and across the United States. The teams construct vehicles to run on five different fuel sources: battery electric, diesel, ethanol, gasoline and hydrogen. These vehicles compete in either urban concept or prototype categories.

To see all of the final results from this year’s event, including specific awards granted to this year’s teams, please visit check here.

For more information on how Michelin is contributing to A Better Way Forward, please visit our sustainability projects here.

About Michelin North America

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company has earned a long-standing reputation for building innovative premium tires. In addition to tires, the company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs about 22,700 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants.